Easterling Ambush
by I.M.F
Summary: A Captain in the Rangers of Gondor and a new trainee are tracking a band of Easterlings in Ithilien.
1. Talk Around Rabbits

**Easterling Ambush**  
  
Chapter 1   
  
_Talk Around Rabbits_  
  
{This story takes place around 17 of the Fourth Age and is pure speculation as to what King Elessar would do about the Easterlings if they were to attempt to attack Gondor. All of the places and people are of his work, except for the characters I made up, which were based off his and entirely fictional.}  
  
The wind holwed through the dense oak forest. The canopy shielded them from the sun, which would have pounded down upon them had it been otherwise.   
  
"It's dark", he mumbled, half asleep. He looked up at the canopy, he had just woken up. His name was Faenil, Captain in the Rangers of Gondor. They were currently in the Forest of Ithilien, east of Minas Tirith. The Barracks and Training Grounds were just west of where they were now. It stood upon the banks of the River Anduin, next to the City of Osgiliath, the City of All the Stars.   
  
He was currently tracking a band of Easterlings with a recruit he was asked to train by the Commander of his division. He walked into the tent and tugged at the soldier. "Wake up,  
wake up Hegordae." Hegordae shifted, but did not wake. He walked over to a creek, filled up his bucket, and returned to the camp grinning. He entered the tent again, and poured  
the bucket on Hegordae. "Wake up you bum", he said laughing as he threw the bucket outside the tent.   
  
"What, what do you want?" Hegordae asked as he was woken abrupltly by the cold water. Faenil pulled a leaf off Hegordae's wet face. "You address me as sir, Hegordae, I thought we had established that by now", Faenil retorted as he walked out of the tent. He called from outside, "I'm preparing the fire, get the meat out of the pack if you please Master Hegordae."   
  
"Fine oh fine", he mumbled as he awoke from under his blankets and took down the small, pitched tent. It was cold outside and the fire helped greatly, cooking last night's catch of rabbits just fine as they gathered around it.  
  
"Where d'you reckon the Easterlings are _Sir_", he asked with a bit of sarcasm in the question. Faenil replied in a simple tone, "You would make me laugh Hegordae, if it were not for the fact you take nothing seriously." Faenil shifted and leaned over the fire, turning the rabbits around. "Oh stop being such a prat _Sir_." Faenil sat back down and looked at him with a simple smile and said in a serious voice, "I am not a prat, Master Hegordae", his tone changed as he poked one rabbit with a stick and shrugged, "I am merely following orders to train you." Hegordae leaned back on his log that he was sitting on, "Well you are a half-decent trainer, I'll give you that _Sir_."

"Enough with the Sir stuff already, say it in a simple manner or I'll leave you behind to the wolves", he said in an irritated tone, adjusting the meat some more. Hegordae mumbled something that sounded to Faenil like, "Wouldn't want that to happen", in a sarcastic tone. "Ya know, I heard that", Faenil said in a louder voice as he plucked the rabbits off the spit and handed one fully cooked to Hegordae, "Eat up." Hegordae looked at the rabbit with an almost frightened look on his face. "Oh don't worry, I didn't poison it", Faenil said as he sat back down with his rabbit, looking over at Hegordae, "At least not this time."  
  
Faenil took a chunk or rabbit in his mouth and spoke, "Today I hope to make some progress on them, find out how many there are, and see if we can link up with the main ranger body to the north. From there", he said pulling out a map from his pack, "I hope to attack with full strength here." He tapped the map with his finger. It was pointing to a spot in the North Ithilien just east of Cair Andros. "Right in there is a clearing flanked on three sides by forests with its only opening to the south, where there is a small road. If we can get our body of rangers in the forest on the three sides, we can effectively destroy them", Faenil said all this with a mouth full of rabbit, and he was betting Hegordae was not even paying attention.   
  
But Hegordae broke in, "What of the road?" He shifted on his log as he stared at the map with the rabbit in his right hand. Hegordae tapped the section where the road lay, "Even if we get them on all three sides, they can still get out of the clearing and down the road and into Osgiliath if they are considerably larger in numbers then we are."   
  
Faenil thought for a moment then said, "But, we can close off the road with a simple detachment of oh say......about fifteen rangers." Hegordae broke in again, "But that will take away from the ambushing group, we may not have enough to destroy them if we leave a detachment to guard the road."

Faenil finished his rabbit and stood up, putting on his mail skirt and tunic with the White Tree emblazoned upon it, "Well, we will see when we get to them, and plus, I _am _the commanding officer." Hegordae just nodded and followed suit, putting the unpitched tent in his pack and putting on his mail and tunic, they both took their bows from off a tree and strapped on their swords. Faenil tapped his and they were off.


	2. Fun in the Forest

Easterling Ambush  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Fun  
in the Forest  
  
So Faenil and Hegordae set off from camp. They quenched the fire and left, making quick pace. They stepped lightly so as not to give themselves away, but Hegordae's arrogance was getting to Faenil. "You know Sir", he said, "you should really try to step more lightly, like this", He crept forward on his tiptoes until Faenil pushed him from behind and knocked him to the ground. "Mind yourself Hegordae, you should really learn some maturity", he said as we walked away from Hegordae who was now laying face down in a pile of leaves. He got up with leaves and twigs in his hair and called to Faenil who was already almost out of sight, "Wait up you prat!"  
  
Faenil was running away from Hegordae, determined to play some games with him. "That's really no way to talk to a superior!" he called out from ahead mockingly. The trees rushed passed him and leaves crunched under his feet as he ran through the woods. He was just having a bit of fun, his superiors wouldn't care. He lost sight of Hegordae, but he could hear his feet coming up from a distance behind him. He hid behind a tree and peered out from the side. There was no-one. Just then Hegordae came clambering up the path he had made and ran right past the tree Faenil was hiding behind. "Where are you Faenil, or wait, shouldn't I call you Sir?" He said as he ran up the path ahead of Faenil who was listening. Just then Faenil leaped from behind the tree and whipped out his bow and strung an arrow.  
  
Hegordae immediately stopped running and looked behind him. He saw Faenil with an arrow strung pointing at him. "You're dead you prat", he said and loosed the arrow right past Hegordae's head. Hegordae looked awestruck as the arrow flew past him. He regained his wits and spat, "Are you insane, you could have killed me?" "I'm just messing around with you, you really should be more careful. You were more of an orc than a ranger when I saw you run past me", Faenil said, panting. "Oh, come on", he said looking at the horror-struck expression on Hegordae's face, "If you're going to be that scared of your own instructor, the Easterlings will have you in no time you withering little baby."  
  
At this Hegordae ran at Faenil and took him down. Faenil knocked him off and sprang to his feet, unsheathing his sword. "You want to spar do you Sir?" Hegordae said as he unsheathed his own sword. With that Faenil ran at him, swinging his sword. Faenil had much more experience, especially in combat than Hegordae and Hegordae knew this. Hegordae parried his hack at his hips and made a thrust at Faenil's ribs. Faenil knocked it away with a swipe and kicked his feet out from under him. He then rushed in for the kill and made a stroke onto his neck, but Hegordae held up his sword and blocked the stroke. Hegordae then tackled Faenil to the ground and knocked his sword away. Faenil ran for his sword, but Hegordae grabbed his feet and dragged him back. "Not going anywhere Sir", he said mockingly as he held on to his legs. "Oh I'll be going somewhere", Faenil said and punched Hegordae right in the neck. He sprang away, grabbed his sword and ran back. He swung the sword high and Hegordae went to parry the upward stroke, but at the last second Faenil swung low and caught him the stomach.  
"I win", he said and sheathed his sword. Hegordae followed suit, panting as he said, "You're too fast." "I'm not that fast", Faenil replied, panting as well. "We really have to make some more progress. We shouldn't have stopped, that only tired us and wasted time. But we did, so we'll have to live with it. Now we have to make a quick pace through the woods to catch up to the band of Easterlings ahead." "Whatever you say Sir", Hegordae replied as they started running through the forest again. 


End file.
